Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Moqueca

Prato

Origem
Brazil

Moqueca is a Brazilian stew of fish and seafood with tomato, onion, bell peppers, cilantro and oil, served bubbling with white rice and pirão. A clay-pot, low-heat dish, it is a celebration at the table and a symbol of the cooking of Espírito Santo and Bahia.

Characteristics

Every moqueca starts with firm pieces of fish, sliced tomato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, oil and salt, layered and cooked in their own juices, without excess water. Moqueca capixaba uses annatto (urucum) and olive oil and skips coconut milk and dendê oil, with a lighter flavor straight from the fish. Moqueca baiana includes coconut milk and dendê oil, resulting in an orange, creamy, fragrant broth. The right doneness is fish cooked but still whole, with a full-bodied broth. Firm fish like cação (dogfish), badejo (grouper), robalo (snook) and namorado hold up well to cooking without falling apart.

Uses in the kitchen

Moqueca is served with white rice, pirão made with its own broth, cassava farofa, vinaigrette and chili pepper. To prepare, sauté garlic and onion in oil, layer fish and vegetables, season and cook covered over low heat, basting with the broth that forms. Shrimp and octopus go in at the end so they do not overcook. Serve in the pot itself to hold the heat and finish with fresh cilantro and a drizzle of oil. Leftovers become hearty pirão, moqueca rice or filling for fish pies and empadas.

Variations

Beyond the classic capixaba and baiana, there are cação moqueca, fish moqueca with shrimp, egg moqueca as a budget version, vegan moqueca with plantain and palm heart, and octopus moqueca. Each keeps the tomato, onion and bell pepper base, swapping only the main protein and adjusting cooking time.

Fun facts

In Espírito Santo tradition, moqueca must be made in a handmade clay pot, which distributes heat and keeps the stew bubbling at the table. The name comes from Indigenous preparations in gourds, before the clay pot arrived. At coastal celebrations, moqueca is usually served to the whole table straight from the pot, with no individual plating.

Recipes with moqueca

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